The $3.20 ‘nostalgic’ item from Woolies and Coles shoppers are obsessed with: ‘The underrated GOAT’
A supermarket condiment that was once an Aussie barbeque staple has received an unexpected outpouring of praise from shoppers – many of whom had no idea it still existed.
One foodie sparked the discussion by sharing a photo of themself holding a bottle of Eta Original Barbecue Sauce in an online forum, asking: ‘Anyone else swear by this Aussie BBQ Sauce?’
The simple question quickly ignited hundreds of enthusiastic replies.
‘That sauce is the underrated GOAT of BBQ. It puts all other sauces to shame,’ one reply read.
‘It’s the OG BBQ sauce,’ agreed a second.
‘It’s un-Australian to use any other barbecue sauce,’ another chimed in.
Another declared the sauce was ‘the absolute GOAT, and staple, of Aussie condiments’.
This 375ml sauce, which comes in a distinctive dark red plastic bottle with a textured base, yellow lid and yellow writing, is currently sold at both Woolworths and Coles for $3.20.
An Aussie shopper shared a simple post praising ETA Original Barbecue Sauce, and it quickly ignited an outpouring of nostalgia from other fans of the condiment
Many replies in the Australian nostalgia online discussion agreed that seeing the unique bottle instantly brought back childhood memories of an era when it was ‘a staple at most Aussie BBQs’.
‘This was at every BBQ if you were having a sausage sizzle,’ read one reply.
‘On every damn table at every BBQ we had or went to as a kid,’ another agreed.
‘It was the only BBQ sauce of my childhood,’ added a third.
Although the sauce is still readily available in major supermarkets today, the photo of it dredged up long-held family memories for many Aussies.
‘My nan introduced me to it in the 70s and it’s still going strong today,’ read one reply.
‘This was the only BBQ sauce my grandma bought – brings back golden memories.’
Another fan recalled the ‘sticky residue’ on the lid and the way the ‘bottle heats up’ when left outside, resulting in it pouring out ‘eight times more than you wanted’. Their verdict? ‘Everything about it is great.’
Aussies fondly recalled that the sauce was a staple of BBQs in their childhood. Many were surprised to learn it is still widely available in supermarkets, priced at $3.20 at Coles and Woolies
One person summed it up: ‘Our childhood in a bottle.’
The sauce’s distinctive sweet, tangy and smoky flavour was cited in several replies – with many also sharing their favourite serving suggestion for enjoying it.
‘A sausage sanga covered in this stuff with onions off the BBQ hotplate… Legendary!’ one person replied.
‘Back when $5 worth of hot chips from the shop could feed a family, you’d unwrap the paper, squeeze out a puddle next to the chips and it became a free-for-all,’ another recalled.
‘White bread, three slices, a liberal application of sauce: the perfect after-school snack,’ another reminisced.
‘Just put some on my bacon and egg roll this morning,’ said one current fan.
Some shared that they like to use the sauce in cooking for dishes like buffalo wings or bolognese mince, and many agreed it’s best simply dolloped on a homemade burger.
Not only was there huge passion for the sauce itself, but many insisted it was far superior to other supermarket barbeque sauce brands.
Many sauce fans offered serving suggestions for using the sauce – with a number citing it as the perfect addition to a homemade burger
‘It puts all other BBQ sauces to shame,’ insisted one person.
‘This is the only brand I’ll buy. It’s top tier,’ said another.
‘I’m not brand loyal with most things, but I am with this OG,’ added a third.
‘No other sauce is permitted in my home,’ said one, half-jokingly.
It wasn’t just the distinctive flavour that garnered praise but also the memorable bottle design – especially the signature basket-weave etching on the base.
‘The basket makes it look very fancy,’ read one reply.
‘I liked feeling the textured basket mould on the bottom of the bottle. It was soothing to me,’ another laughed.
‘I have overseas family who request “the sauce in the basket bottle” in care packages!’ another shared.
Replies to the online discussion shared how they liked to add the barbeque sauce into cooking, as well as use it as a finisher on dishes
One reply joked about the Aussie BBQ favourite and its ‘fancy’ bottle: ‘And they say we have no culture. This is culture.’
While many people had fond, nostalgic memories of the sauce, some were surprised to learn that it’s still widely available in major stores to this day.
‘Didn’t even realise they still made it. Haven’t had this sauce since the early nineties.’
Replies from those in the know explained that these days it’s far outnumbered by bigger sauce brands, so you have to look closely to find it on the shelves.
However, there was one major design flaw that always baffled fans of this sauce: the wide-neck bottle opening.
‘Wish it wouldn’t pour so much out at once,’ commented one person, while another agreed that ‘not having a squeeze top is begging for disaster’.
But one sauce lover shared a ‘hack’ that appeared to resolve the issue, much to the amazement of other long-time fans.
‘If you want a good hack, put the lid from a Kewpie mayo on this bottle and you have perfect squeeze distribution,’ they revealed.
The replies were astounded: ‘You have just changed my life,’ wrote one, while another added, ‘Are you kidding – that is an amazing hack!’
For at least one person, though, the “Russian roulette” amount of sauce pouring out from an Eta Barbecue Sauce bottle was all part of the experience.
‘What do you mean? Whatever amount comes out of that bottle is the perfect amount.’
